RHUBARB UPSIDE-DOWN SPICE CAKE with CINNAMON WHIPPED CREAM & RHUBARB SAUCE

I don't know about you, but it makes me all kinds of happy when my kids take the lead and show their interest, talent and love of cooking and baking...all those cooking lessons that started when they were just little enough to sit on the counter and stir muffins has paid off! 

While our son was away at camp this weekend whipping up some Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, along the same theme, it's time to share another family favorite with you - Rhubarb Upside-Down Spice Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Rhubarb Syrup. ​

The first tender pink stalks of rhubarb are growing and shooting up inches every day now, and it's great fun cooking with them again.  I ALWAYS have to start my rhubarb repertoire with Rhubarb Jam - we've depleted our supply from last year, so I cooked up 4 double-batches this weekend.   I use our homemade Rhubarb Jam in so many other things that we never seem to have enough to last for long.  And while the first jar or two disappear FAST on warm buttered toast, I saved a cup from our first jam crop to make a savory Rhubarb Sauce to drizzle on this beauty!

​Although we call this a "spice" cake, it really is a lighter version of the heavier spice cakes you may enjoy in the fall and winter.  Flavored with vanilla and cinnamon, it has just a hint of ginger, cloves and nutmeg to give it a light spring touch.  Fresh buttermilk also lightens it up compared to heavier spice cakes. 

And unlike pineapple upside-down cake, this doesn't have any hint of "sogginess" - the cake layer holds itself light and steady.  So moist and flavorful, the spice cake is pretty darn good just by itself, but topped with an upside-down layer of golden sweet rhubarb?  The tanginess and sweetness creates the perfect balance. 

You could certainly stop with the Rhubarb-Upside Down Cake at this point, but the sweet Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Rhubarb Sauce just take this to a new level. 

I had a small gathering of both little ones and big ones just waiting for this to finish baking - the spicy aroma from the cake was flying all over the house!  I don't think the cake had cooled more than half an hour before I was topping it with a cloud of sweet Cinnamon Whipped Cream and drizzling it with just the tiniest bit of fresh Rhubarb Sauce. 

​This cake may actually taste even better the next day - but it never seems to last that long around our house!  It disappeared FAST - bite by delicious bite!   If you have any favorite rhubarb recipes, please share below!  We're always looking for something new and exciting!